No verbatim quote recorded for this entry; summary of the source only.
At SEC Media Days, acknowledged 'real' discussions of governance breakaway options that could distance the SEC from the NCAA, then walked back talk of actually breaking away.
May 28, 2025: On SEC-Big Ten scheduling, Sankey laid out three options: stay out of it, facilitate more games, or mandate them. He called a mandate incred…
Jul 14, 2025: At 2025 SEC Media Days, Sankey defended the CFP memorandum of understanding that gives the SEC and Big Ten decision-making authority on the …
Mar 2026: On The Paul Finebaum Show, Sankey said breaking away wasn't a good idea for now, but that great frustration over the lack of enforceable gua…
Mar 6, 2026: Asked why the House ruling wasn't appealed, Sankey pointed to the 9-0 Supreme Court loss in Alston and said antitrust law is the core obstac…
Jun 5, 2026: On The Paul Finebaum Show, denied any SEC–Big Ten merger or super league plan, calling claims by Protect College Sports Act backers 'not con…
Jul 20, 2026: Opening SEC Media Days, Sankey pushed back on a 24-team CFP. He said there is no clear evidence of media interest, the calendar is already s…
Jul 20, 2026: Sankey said SEC talk of breaking away is real and not a bargaining tactic. He described it as a sign of deep frustration over how national r…
Jul 20, 2026: In his media days address, Sankey laid out the national standards he wants, including health and safety, scholarship protections, oversight …
Oct 1, 2026: In a Puck interview, Sankey said the sport has to decide whether academics matter, and backed the Protect College Sports Act's eligibility l…
Oct 1, 2026: Said the part of the Protect College Sports Act he dislikes is pooled media rights, calling the promise that some 130 programs would triple …
Oct 1, 2026: Said SEC 'self-governance' means writing more of its own rules among its 16 schools, not breaking away from the NCAA.
Oct 1, 2026: On a 24-team playoff, Sankey said the SEC's concerns are economics and the December grind, and that CFP selection's effect on nonconference …
Oct 14, 2026: At SEC basketball media days, warned that if Congress fails to set national standards, the SEC will look harder at writing its own, more res…
Oct 14, 2026: Long a skeptic of a 24-team College Football Playoff, said the SEC has an openness to expansion and expects a final decision 'probably soone…
Oct 14, 2026: After SEC presidents tabled a proposal to make intraconference transfers sit out a season, said tabling was the right call while Congress an…